Strong winds make a two day visit 10-11 January 2018

A couple of rounds of wind, blowing dust, fires and thunderstorms
10-11 January 2018

Cotton fire still smoldering near Petersburg on 11 January 2018. The picture is courtesy of KCBD.

A powerful upper level storm system that brought widespread heavy rain to California (spurring devastating mudslides) approached West Texas via the Desert Southwest in mid-January. As the system approached and passed it provide strong winds to the South Plains region both Wednesday and Thursday, January 10th and 11th. The strong winds lofted blowing dust at times and also combined with dry conditions to raise the fire danger.

Water vapor satellite imagery captured at 6:59 pm on 10 January 2018. Note the tightly wound up system across southeast New Mexico into the southwest South Plains.

Initially, as the storm system approached on Wednesday, strong southwesterly to westerly winds gradually overspread the region during the afternoon hours. These downsloping winds helped to rapidly warm temperatures, with afternoon highs topping out near record levels, mostly in the 70s. Lubbock officially recorded a high of 75 degrees, just one degree shy of the daily record set in 1928.

High temperatures observed by West Texas Mesonet Stations around the South Plains region on Wednesday, 10 January 2018.

Wind speeds of 30 to 40 mph, with gusts of 45 to 55 mph became common across the Caprock Wednesday afternoon. These strong winds eventually spread into the Rolling Plains during the late afternoon and evening hours. The warm, relatively dry and gusty winds did fan several wildfires that developed through the afternoon and evening.

Maximum wind gusts recorded by the West Texas Mesonet Stations around the South Plains region on Wednesday, 10 January 2018. A map displaying the maximum sustained wind speeds for the 10th can be VIEWED HERE.

Additionally, several high based showers and thunderstorms developed as the lift from the storm system moved over late Wednesday afternoon into the evening. A brief round of light rain moved across Lubbock shortly after 7 pm, but more widespread activity developed over the Rolling Plains Wednesday evening. This activity was moisture starved and produced little in the way of rainfall, though out in the Rolling Plains it did generate several lightning strikes while also locally enhancing the wind.

Radar reflectivity image captured from the Lubbock WSR-88D at 6:29 pm on Wednesday, 10 January 2018.

As the below image illustrates, rain totals were light, generally around or under a tenth of an inch, with many spots only reporting trace amounts. Instead of providing welcome moisture, the high-based thunderstorms only created more problems, enhancing the winds and potential starting several small wildfires.

24-hour radar-estimated and bias-corrected precipitation ending at 10 pm on 10 January 2018.Â Â

24-hour radar-estimated and bias-corrected precipitation ending at 10 pm on 10 January 2018. A plot of observed West Texas Mesonet precipitation over this same period can be FOUND HERE.

The storm system didn't go quietly. In fact in its wake it sent a strong cold front southward early Thursday, December 11th. Northerly winds behind this front quickly jumped. Sustained wind speeds of 30 to 40+ mph were common behind the front, with gusts of 50 to 60+ mph reported at many locations across the eastern Texas Panhandle. Though temperatures were much cooler behind the front, only in the 40s at most spots, the strong winds did reinvigorate several wildfires. The winds finally diminished Thursday evening as the storm system moved off into the Midwest.

Maximum wind gusts recorded by the West Texas Mesonet Stations around the South Plains region on Thursday, 11 January 2018. A map displaying the maximum sustained wind speeds for the 11th can be VIEWED HERE.